BOOK IV.] THE EMENDED PUNCTUATION. xcvii thrown that mountain upon the rapid current; and observe my other alterations, as compared with the following: Passed underneath ingulfed; for God had thrown How from that sapphire fount the crispèd brooks— 237 Observe how the true flow of the subject is missed, as exhibited in the following sample of some editions: How from that sapphire fount the crispèd brooks, With mazy error under pendent shades Mount Amara-though this by some supposed A whole day's journey high. 281 enclosed with shining rock, But wide remote From this Assyrian garden [it was] where the Fiend See my Note, p. 86. The blunder, as printed in all the editions, is shown as follows: A whole day's journey high, but wide remote Let an examination of the passage from line 284 to 299 be made, the result of which would afford, I think, considerable gratification to the intelligent reader. I give the passage as it is treated-debased it should be said-in all the editions; but besides the muddle that is presented there, Vaughan, Keightley, and Bradshaw reach a lower *h deep, by commencing a new paragraph at "Two of far nobler," &c.— Saw undelighted all delight, all kind Of living creatures new to sight and strange. And worthy seemed; for in their looks divine 290 296 The burlesque into which it has been turned by all the editors is as grievous as it is odious-I refer to lines 290 and 296. See my Note, p. 87. for softness she Not equal, as their sex not equal: seemed It is seriously and artlessly handed on to us in the following form: certain editors at least ought to have seen its obnoxious character: though both Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed ; See my remarks on this emendation, pp. 86, 87. Bishop Pearse, entangled in the meshes of the "original" punctuation, seriously explains, "for their sex did more than seem not equal." but in wanton ringlets waved (As the vine curls her tendrils), which implied The following is Bradshaw's free treatment : but in wanton ringlets waved As the vine curls her tendrils, which implied 306 BOOK IV.] THE EMENDED PUNCTUATION. xcix For more weak and objectionable punctuation, see my Note, p. 88, on lines 312-318. The ardour and impressiveness of the passage is entirely missed or ignored. to their supper fruits they fell- 331 Careful comparison with the following must be made so as to discover the important changes I have introduced above: to their supper fruits they fell, Nectarine fruits, which the compliant boughs On the soft downy bank damasked with flowers : In lines 358-394, the weakest treatment is accorded in all the editions to Satan's intense malignity, where the most vigorous and pointed is demanded. So near grows death to life, whate'er death is Some dreadful thing no doubt! For well thou knowest, The received pointing is thus : : So near grows death to life, whate'er death is, Some dreadful thing no doubt; for well thou knowest, For we to him indeed all praises owe Like consort to thyself canst no where find. 425 444 The changes I have made here possess peculiar interest, and they develop a beauty which is totally absent from the received and perverse punctuation. The latter is here shown: For we to him indeed all praises owe Eve is far from saying that she is "enjoying Adam preeminent "--which is not sense; she says, that she has the advantage over him while he like consort to himself, &c., and that she has the happier lot in enjoying him for the reason stated. Lines 469-473-see my remarks on the punctuation of these lines, p. 92, Note, the right determination of which is a matter of much interest. 'Henceforth an individual solace dear : '[As] Part of my soul I seek thee, and thee claim [As] My other half!' With that thy gentle hand Compare this with Bradshaw's strange treatment: 'Henceforth an individual solace dear; Part of my soul, I seek thee; and thee claim, 'My other half.' With that thy gentle hand And Vaughan's is similar. 496 Yet let me not forget what I have gained 512 From their own mouths-all is not theirs, it seems: The following objectionable and prosy punctuation is Vaughan's : From their own mouths. All is not theirs, it seems One fatal tree there stands BOOK IV.] THE EMENDED PUNCTUATION. Equal with gods. Aspiring to be such, ci 526 The keen irony in these lines seems not to bave been detected, or they would not have been punctuated in the depressing manner they are in the following examples. This is Keightley's and Vaughan's : Equal with gods. Aspiring to be such, The other editions treat it thus: Equal with gods; aspiring to be such, They taste and die. What likelier can ensue ? See my Note, p. 96, pointing out the ruinous punctuation of the received editions in lines 592-599. All the editors have overlooked that Milton begins at line 592 an explanation as to how "still evening came on," either by the setting of the sun or the revolution of the earth. It is their preposterous punctuation which has led them into so serious a misunderstanding of the passage, and which renders their notes on it not only futile and ridiculous, but leaves the lines up to 597 in the air. I here give Bradshaw's Note as a specimen of the rest :"Milton here leaves the reader to choose which theory he pleases, the Ptolemaic or the Copernican,-—whether the sun set by the revolution to the west of the Primum Mobile, or the earth itself revolved to the east." In order (though to nations. yet unborn 663 The received treatment seems to betray a doubtful understanding of these lines, for this is how they are dealt with: In order, though to nations yet unborn, Ministering light prepared, they set and rise; |